In a computing environment, it is not uncommon for a program to have an error, which may result in a “crash” or “hang.” Such programs may include word processing programs, office management programs or almost any type of program. Following the crash or hang, a dialog box may invite the user to send an “error report” to a software corporation.
Error reports, which may be considered “telemetry data,” include information from the memory of the computer, prior to the crash. Such information is useful to software developers trying to determine a cause of the failure. In some cases, tens of millions of error reports may arrive daily.
Due to the volume of error reports which may be received by a software company, it may be difficult to process the incoming information, and particularly, to derive useful insight as to the cause of error reports. This difficulty is magnified because error reports are not grouped logically and in a manner which suggests a cause of the underlying error.
Thus, advancements in error report processing would be welcome, particularly advancements able to more efficiently process very large numbers of error reports. Additionally, advancements in error report processing that are able to better analyze error reports, and particularly to indicate software problems in less common error reports, would result in more rapid error detection.